SUM OF THE PARTS

Dixon Technologies is reaping the benefits of some smart decisions it made a decade ago. Founder Sunil Vachani is now focussed on consolidating the gains

- Arnab Dutta

IT ALL STARTED WITH AN IDEA. For a young Sunil Vachani, the proposition was simple: to set up a company that would specialise in manufacturing electronic components and products on behalf of other firms. And with this idea, he approached his father for funds. But this was the early 1990s, and India then was a different place. Then, electronics manufacturing was confined mainly to television and refrigerators. Moreover, most leading players preferred to keep their production inhouse. What we know today as electronics manufacturing services (EMS), was virtually unheard of back in the day. Vachani, however, was confident about its future. Freshly back from London with a graduate degree, the young entrepreneur's journey took flight in December 1993 when his father finally agreed to back his plan. "He trusted me and said, 'I am going to give you four things.' He gave me a small capital to start the venture; chose the name Dixon [for the venture]; sent one of his trusted protégées, Atul Lall, and [gave me] his blessings. That's how the journey began," says Vachani, who is the winner in the Consumer Goods & Durables category of the BTPwC India's Best CEOs ranking this year. Atul Lall is now the CEO of Dixon.